Hello!

This is a request for RX1 owners - could anyone post pics of same scene with the RX1 against another cam/lens combo at F/2.0?

I'm curious to see how the RX1 stacks up, especially when juxtaposed against a huge DSLR equivalent like a Canon 1D body paired with a EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, and also of course a more direct comparison with the Leica 35mm f/2.0 Summicron M.

Thanks if anyone takes the time to do this.

This will be a very interesting thread if there are any people willing to do that. And few people are qualified to do that.
If you can change the title to discuss Bokeh of RX1 and samples welcom, many people might give you some info and their thought.

5DII and Zeiss ZE 35/2 would be nice to see in the mix

zhangyue wrote:
This will be a very interesting thread if there are any people willing to do that. And few people are qualified to do that.
If you can change the title to discuss Bokeh of RX1 and samples welcom, many people might give you some info and their thought.

Yeah it might a long shot. RX1 owners are less likely to already own a similar body/lens combo.

I'm most curious of apples to apples comparisons, but no doubt I would also enjoy seeing nice examples of RX1 bokeh, and maybe other lenses at similar apertures

Martin could post a D700+ZF35/1.4@f/2 shot, if he didn't sell it yet and feels like it. Doesn't Helena have the ZF35/2?

carstenw wrote:
Martin could post a D700+ZF35/1.4@f/2 shot, if he didn't sell it yet and feels like it. Doesn't Helena have the ZF35/2?

Helena has the 35/1.4 ZE and 35L. Maybe she or Martin feels like it.

I can compare it with D800E and ZF 35/2 and also 1ds3 and C/Y 35/1.4. But this takes time to do ...
I have mentioned already that the RX1's lens is like the C/Y 35/1.4 but has slower focus transition to OOF and handles high contrast scenes better. It has smooth bokeh almost as or almost as smooth as newer ZF 35/1.4 without the SA and easier to focus. The bokeh highlight circles are not perfectly round and are cat's eye like but that is usually due to the ratio of the entrance pupil to the exit pupil and the distance from the last element to the sensor which is a lot shorter than ZF.

Yes, it would be very interesting to see a bokeh comparison between RX1 and other 35mm lenses. Like Jochen says I currently have both 35L and ZE 35/1.4 (have been hunting for the perfect 35mm for some time ) so I guess I'm an obvious candidate, but I'm currently trying to sell the Zeiss and I'm very busy this week, so I'm not sure that I can find the time to do any testing. We'll see.

the new ef35/2 IS might have nice bokeh too according to the pics seen. it is no zeiss but lovely nevertheless.

I don't see the point in comparing it to any faster lens....

I do. Comparing the RX1's 35 to the ZF35/1.4@f/2 is interesting to me. This is a real-world choice for people who want the best rendering, but are not fussy about the size and weight of their camera.

carstenw wrote:
Martin could post a D700+ZF35/1.4@f/2 shot, if he didn't sell it yet and feels like it. Doesn't Helena have the ZF35/2?

Yes I could, but I really hate making tests. It's pitch black outside at any time after work, and I can't find anything interesting to shoot indoors. Dragging out a tripod in the snow for such a thing is out of the question. But we'll see.

everyone paypal martin! for the sake of testing!

Its a different lens on a different camera type compsrison which are more difficult since different camera rendering/sensor/colors etc. Including different strength AA filters possibly.

Martin, tripod is not needed for Boekh.
Wayne, I believe Bokeh doesnt care AA, sensor, color as well

Hey, I understand the time involved with this comparison just for the sake of curiosity of some peoples. Owners might not be interested in this comparison as long as they love the lens/camera combo. I personal have tons of 50mm lens on hand, and I never have the desire to do a comparison myself. Just shoot and look what I like, that is enough!

From what I see, the RX1 Bokeh is beautiful. sharpness is wonderful and size is small. maybe distortion is higher. So, I don't see any performance issue to keep me away this combo other than price and handling. which this comparison result won't change my POV anyway.

Just saying.

zhangyue wrote:
Martin, tripod is not needed for Boekh.
Wayne, I believe Bokeh doesnt care AA, sensor, color as well

for a "real" comparison you need a tripod to insure identical framing/subject distance.

zhangyue wrote:
Hey, I understand the time involved with this comparison just for the sake of curiosity of some peoples. Owners might not be interested in this comparison as long as they love the lens/camera combo. I personal have tons of 50mm lens on hand, and I never have the desire to do a comparison myself. Just shoot and look what I like, that is enough!

From what I see, the RX1 Bokeh is beautiful. sharpness is wonderful and size is small. maybe distortion is higher. So, I don't see any performance issue to keep me away this combo other than price and handling. which this comparison result won't change my POV anyway.

Just saying.


+1

i'd be interested to see such a comparison, but i would never do one myself, nor will it influence my buying decision in any way. the rx1 lens looks awesome to me, whether the camera will work for me is the question.

zhangyue wrote:
Martin, tripod is not needed for Boekh.
Wayne, I believe Bokeh doesnt care AA, sensor, color as well



Most people here when mentioning a comparison will be comparing more than just bokeh.
Also for me who has shot ZF 35/2, ZE 35/1.4 and C/Y 35/1.4 I can easily rate these lenses in bokeh smoothness:
ZF35/1.4 >= RX1> C/Y 35/1.4> ZF35/2
I would not say RX1 bokeh is better than ZF35/1.4 but is very good and not a reason to not get the RX1.
Not worth the effort and testing bokeh requires finding several different difficult bokeh renderibg scenes ie. backlit trees, checkered shirts etc.
For bokeh it is easy to just look at images in image thread and look for bad, busy bokeh.

wayne seltzer wrote:
zhangyue wrote:
Martin, tripod is not needed for Boekh.
Wayne, I believe Bokeh doesnt care AA, sensor, color as well



Most people here when mentioning a comparison will be comparing more than just bokeh.
Also for me who has shot ZF 35/2, ZE 35/1.4 and C/Y 35/1.4 I can easily rate these lenses in bokeh smoothness:
ZF35/1.4 >= RX1> C/Y 35/1.4> ZF35/2
I would not say RX1 bokeh is better than ZF35/1.4 but is very good and not a reason to not get the RX1.
Not worth the effort and testing bokeh requires finding several different difficult bokeh renderibg scenes ie. backlit trees, checkered shirts etc.
For bokeh it is easy to just look at images in image thread and look for bad, busy bokeh.


My bad, I just realized I prioritized the comparison in my mind: Boekh/rendering, which is most important to me.

I agree with you that Bokeh is the most time consuming comparison as it require subject/background distance and ratio, even spot lighting etc..

Interesting, 35mm cron wasn't mentioned in responces at all.

mirkoc wrote:
Interesting, 35mm cron wasn't mentioned.

the op did.